?Stakeholders call for strengthened tax generation system

Stakeholders
at a tax justice forum in Wa have advocated the need for the government to
strengthen the tax system in order to eliminate loopholes for improved domestic
revenue generation.

They
said sectors such as health, education and agriculture required gender
responsive interventions and investment which could only be achieved through
sufficient revenue mobilisation.

The
stakeholders were speaking during a panel discussion organised by the Upper
West Regional Programme Office of Action Aid Ghana (AAG) in collaboration with
Activista Movement, a youth led advocacy movement instituted by AAG in Wa.

It
formed part of activities of AAG to mark the 2019 edition of the International
Youth Day which was on the theme, ‘Transforming education’.

The
panel of stakeholders also urged the government to stop the harmful tax
incentives such as excessive tax exemptions and tax holidays, which according
to them were injurious to the nation’s financial growth.

Mr
Salifu Issifu Kanton, the Executive Director for Community Development Alliance
(CDA), who represented the Tax Power Campaign, alleged that the
nation’s tax system was poor as larger and multinational companies “dodge taxes
with the aid of government officials and agencies”.

Tax
Justice Campaign is an alliance of civil society organisations (CSOs)
including: the Community Development Alliance (CDA) and the Ghana
Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) aimed at advocating a robust domestic revenue
mobilisation through taxes.

Mr
Kanton explained that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) also contributed to the
challenges in the tax system and cited the 2018 audit report that indicted the
GRA for granting tax exemptions to companies without approval of Parliament.

“The
only way to solve our problems is to have an efficient tax system that is not
poisoned by the corrupt practices of our state agencies and officials,” he
said, and urged all well-meaning Ghanaians, especially the youth, to join the
campaign to propel inclusive development in their communities.

Mr
Malik Ali Gbene, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for AAG, explained that tax
incentives were strategies to encourage investors into the country, but said
there was the need for critical reassessment of the incentives to avoid revenue
losses.

He
noted that as part of initiatives by the AAG to help improve the tax system, it
co-founded the Tax Justice Campaign Coalition to advocate tax justice in the
country.

According
to him the AAG conducted a study in 2016, which revealed that the country lost
about US$2.4 billion to US$2.7 billion, which could have been used to improve
gender responsive education, health and agriculture.